Paper Prints in Motion
Georges Méliès (1861–1938), Still from Le Mélomane, 1903. Partial restoration by George Eastman Museum from the Paper Print Collection at the Library of Congress.
D.W. Griffith (1875–1948), Still from Where the Breakers Roar, 1908. Restoration by Film Preservation Society, Ruxandra Blaga, in collaboration with the Library of Congress. From the Paper Print Collection at the Library of Congress.
D.W. Griffith (1875–1948), Still from The Devil, 1908. Restoration by Film Preservation Society, Ruxandra Blaga, in collaboration with the Library of Congress. From the Paper Print Collection at the Library of Congress.
D.W. Griffith (1875–1948), Still from A Smoked Husband, 1908. Restoration by Film Preservation Society, Katherine Pratt, in collaboration with the Library of Congress. From the Paper Print Collection at the Library of Congress.
In the early 1890s, the first-ever exhibitions of movies in the United States were received by the public with overwhelming success. The popularity of the new entertainment form led to an unfortunate outcome: piracy in the form of widespread counterfeiting of early film prints. Copyright laws did not yet include the new medium of motion pictures, but there were laws protecting still photographs. In order to meet the criteria for existing copyright laws, movie producers contact-printed their films as strips of sequential still photographs onto long rolls of photographic paper, then deposited them with the Library of Congress. This practice was maintained from 1894 until 1912, the year that US copyright laws were revised to include motion pictures.
Today, the Library of Congress has conserved over 3,000 paper prints, many of which are the only surviving versions of the films they represent. Since the 1940s, efforts have been made to preserve paper prints on film, but the results have been mixed. Recent digital capture and restoration methods applied ethically by skilled film restorers have resulted in paper prints being made viewable as movies with unprecedented levels of clarity and authenticity.
This program features three recently restored paper prints originally produced by Biograph Studios and directed by D.W. Griffith (American 1875–1948) in 1908, the same year he made his directing debut. To further demonstrate the restoration process with paper prints, the program also includes a partially restored version of Le Mélomane (The Melomaniac), a 1903 short directed by the legendary French special effects virtuoso, Georges Méliès (1861–1938).
The program:
Where the Breakers Roar (D.W. Griffith, US 1908. 9 min.) This crime drama set along the seaside follows an escaped patient suffering from mental illness who descends upon a group of beachgoers. The story climaxes with an exciting rowboat chase.
The Devil (D.W. Griffith, US 1908, 10 min.) An early example of supernatural horror, this tragic tale of jealousy and lust involves a married artist’s affair with his model while his wife seeks comfort in the arms of another man. Using special effects and make-up, the Devil himself manifests to conduct the sinful proceedings.
A Smoked Husband (D.W. Griffith, US 1908, 8 min.) A slapstick comedy where a husband finds himself trapped in his own chimney. Featuring performances by notable early movie stars John R. Cumpson and Florence Lawrence as Mr. and Mrs. Bibbs.
Le Mélomane (The Melomaniac) (Georges Méliès, France 1903, 3 min.) A melomaniac is a person with a deep obsession for music and Méliès portrays the condition in one of his most technically brilliant productions. The restoration work is shown in unfinished state due to the discovery of a better source for the film in France.